How We Support Mental Health and Wellbeing (SEMH)

At Gatley Primary School, we recognise the need for a whole school approach to promoting positive SEMH. This is supported by our whole school provision map for SEMH which provides a graduated approach to supporting pupils with their mental health and wellbeing. It is sectioned into four waves and provides support and guidance on identification and also strategies for supporting pupils:

Universal Provision - A whole school approach to promoting emotional health and wellbeing for all children and young people, including specific consideration for those with SEMH needs.
Class Based Interventions - Children whose needs cannot be met through universal services who require some additional support.
Children and young people will have SEMH needs that may moderately affect their access to The National Curriculum, including the social emotional curriculum and school life, eg. on arrival to school, after an incident at playtime/lunchtime etc.
Phase Intervention - Beginnings of IPM Support - Children and young people will have SEMH that moderately/significantly affect their access t The National Curriculum, including the social emotional curriculum and aspects of school life, even in known and familiar contexts and with familiar support/people available.
Acute Specialist Support, including Safeguarding - Children where there are significant welfare concerns that severely/profoundly/exceptionally affect their access to The National Curriculum, including the social emotional curriculum and all aspects of school life.
There is a requirement for further support through referrals or recommendations, eg. EHC/EHA or social services involvement.

For more information, please refer to our 'Pupil Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy' which can be found here: https://gatleyprimary.com/school-information/policies-and-procedures

Senior Mental Health Lead and Pastoral Lead

The Department for Education has recommended that all schools and colleges appoint a Senior Mental Health Lead by 2025. Mrs Clair trained as a Senior Mental Health Lead in 2022 and is supported by Miss Milward who is our Pastoral Lead.

Their roles involve: being responsible for creating a whole-school approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing as well as an open culture in which staff and pupils alike can discuss their mental health and wellbeing openly.

At Gatley Primary School, we are proud to be part of the ELSA Network

Our ELSAs are Mrs Robinson and Mrs Sutcliffe.

In schools, ELSA stands for Emotional Literacy Support Assistants. ELSA support in schools is a project designed to help schools support the emotional needs of their pupils.

ELSA recognises that children and young people learn best when they feel happier and their emotional needs are being addressed.

This initiative was developed and supported by Educational Psychologists who used their knowledge of how children develop socially and emotionally and understood how to apply this to meet the needs of students.

ELSAs are trained to plan and deliver programmes of support to pupils in their school who may be experiencing temporary or long-term additional emotional needs.

Children's Mental Health First Aiders

Our Mental Health First Aiders are: Mrs Newton, Miss Gibbons and Miss Milward.

Youth Mental Health First Aiders have:

An in-depth understanding of young people's mental health and the factors can affect wellbeing
Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of mental health issues
The confidence to step in, reassure and support a young person in distress
Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgmental listening
The knowledge to help a young person recover their health by guiding them to further support - whether that is through self-help sites, their place of learning, the NHS or a mix of these - engaging with parents, carers and external agencies where appropriate
The ability to support a young person with a long-term mental health issue or disability to thrive
The tools to help you look after your own mental health and wellbeing

Supporting our School Community

Our duty of care for the health and wellbeing of all members of our Gatley Primary community filters through all aspects of school life. We actively promote a mentally healthy environment supporting our pupils, staff and parents/carers with their mental health and wellbeing.

Our curriculum supports both physical and mental wellbeing. We enrich our curriculum in these ways through:

Further support

Place2Be is a children's mental health charity that provides counselling and mental health support and training in UK schools. They believe that children should not have to face mental health problems alone.

They offer a variety of different mental health and counselling services for schools including in-school support, expert training and resources.

Their free Mental Health Champions - Foundation Programme and Senior Mental Health Leads Training enhance professionals' understanding of children's mental health.

Their Parenting Smart website provides practical tips for parents, carers and families about how to support children's wellbeing.

How We Support Mental Health and Wellbeing (SEMH)